The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and manufacturing methods thereof and more particularly to semiconductor devices with a protective diode for protection of electronic components against ESD (electrostatic discharge) and manufacturing methods thereof.
In some kinds of high-brightness LEDs (light emitting diodes), ESD surge tolerance is low and therefore a protective Zener diode must be used to absorb inrushing ESD surge from outside to prevent damage to the high-brightness LEDs.
Formerly, a high-brightness LED and a protective Zener diode were separately packaged. Recently, however, the tendency that a high-brightness LED and a protective Zener diode are packaged together for the sake of compactness has been growing (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-156440 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 11 (1999)-214747).